1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and a method for high definition television (HDTV) subscriber verification.
2. Background Art
High definition television (HDTV) is available from cable (and satellite) television (TV) service providers to the majority of homes, shops, taverns, businesses, etc. (i.e., cable television subscribers or clients) served by the television providers. The HDTV signal is transmitted (i.e., sent, presented, provided, broadcast, etc.) including one or more encoded video signals and typically in at least one of two video formats (e.g., format variations with 720 active lines and 1080 active lines per frame). The 60 Hz and 59.94 Hz variations for the 1080-line format are encoded as interlaced scanned images while the other formats are encoded as progressively scanned images. HDTV signals provide the subscriber with delivery of digitally clean pictures with quality approaching that of 35-mm movies accompanied by CD quality Surround-Sound. The pictures are presented in a panoramic horizontal-to-vertical aspect ratio of 16:9 as in the movies on HDTV receivers. An HDTV receiver can receive, decode and display both formats.
A number of cable and satellite TV subscribers would like to receive and display HDTV signals. These subscribers are provided a set top box (STB) capable of decoding the HDTV formats when they notify the TV service provider that they have an HDTV. To reduce STB inventory and to reduce or eliminate the need to make multiple trips to the subscriber for the installation of STBs, the provider may wish to use a single STB that has analog TV, standard digital television (SDTV) and HDTV capabilities for all subscribers. The provider desires to know how many subscribers hook up (i.e., connect, couple, etc.) the STB to an HDTV receiver so that the TV service can match the TV receiver, however, subscribers may fail to notify the provider that the TV connected to the STB is an HDTV or when an HDTV is no longer hooked up to the STB. Thus, there exists a need for an improved system and method for high definition television (HDTV) subscriber verification.